Mario's Drycleaners

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Ms. [redacted], It is clear from the response below that we will simply be agreeing to disagree.  To reiterate my position and our discussion today.  When I initially spoke with Mr. A[redacted] we agreed to a trial period for the first 30 days at a cost of $200 for the month of August 2015.  I agreed to this payment via the website that expressly says that the website was used for one time payments.  It was my understanding that we would re-evaluate our relationship after the first month to see if Mr. A[redacted] would be the right consultant for our company. Unfortunately, due to an inability to contact Mr. A[redacted] during regular business hours I determined that the service was not going to work.  I never agreed via a phone conversation or email correspondence that a recurring payment of $200 was acceptable.  Because we never spoke again after our first phone conversation, I assumed that would be the end of our relationship.  The $200 fee for the first month was not in question as I agreed to make that payment.  Upon reviewing my credit card statement during the month of November I noticed a recurring fee of $200 from an unknown company.  I researched the charge and found that Mr. A[redacted] had been automatically charging my credit card a monthly fee of $200 unbeknownst to me.  I never received a receipt of the monthly payment.  In an email dated, 12/23 Mr. A[redacted] agreed to refund a minimum of $200 although I was charged a total of $800 and only agreed to the first $200 so I should receive a credit of $600. A comparison was made between leasing a vehicle (product) vs. paying a monthly fee for consulting (service).  Comparing a product with a service is clearly the same as comparing apples to oranges, they are completely different entities.  The same argument holds true for a insurance policy.  There is no comparison between an insurance policy and consulting services.  If I was being charged monthly for a consulting service without my knowledge that was never used for 30 years I know I would have a very successful lawsuit against the consulting service.  The very definition of the word consultant states: " a person who provides expert advice professionally" After the first month I received no advice whatsoever. Clearly Mr. A[redacted] doesn't understand the very nature of a consulting service because he is making comparisons to products vs. services. If I were to make a comparison to a consulting business I would compare Mr. A[redacted] service to that of a lawyer charging a monthly fee.  If I never spoke with a lawyer that I had on retainer and was being charged monthly I am fairly certain that lawyer would not be in business very long. Receiving a credit of $600 will not change the fact that Mr. A[redacted] is misleading his clients to a one-time payment online form and is automatically charging the credit card on file without receipt.  It is not about the money as Mr. A[redacted] claims (mentioning Christmas time and his assertion that I needed the money back)  in his initial response from my original complaint. I am merely looking out for the next person that may not find Mr. A[redacted] consulting service to be helpful and find out that they were being charged automatically without any knowledge or receipt of a payment being made.Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
[redacted] Ms. [redacted],I received your note and Mr. A[redacted] response to my complaint.  I am simply rejecting the monthly service charge of $200 which was automatically charged for 4 months without my knowledge.  We verbally agreed to try it for a month to see if it would work out.  I was sent to a website: [redacted]  where you can clearly see the first line of the page says that this is for one time payments.  I am not disputing the first $200 payment only the automatic payment of $200 per month for 3 months that I did not utilize the service in any way and had no knowledge that I was being charged automatically.  If I had not scrutinized my credit card statement carefully and found this charge I imagine Mr. A[redacted] would still be charging me for a service that he was not providing.  I never received an email receipt of these automatic payments and it was only when I located it on my credit card statement that I immediately called my credit card company to stop monthly payments since I hadn’t used the service since the first month. Mr. A[redacted] made a claim at the end of his letter that because it was Christmas time I needed the money. Frankly speaking, I am offended by such a claim. It is unfounded and based in conjecture.  I merely don’t feel that I should have been automatically billed for a service that I did not know I was paying for or utilizing on a monthly basis.  I did not threaten or strong-arm Mr. A[redacted].  On the contrary, Mr. A[redacted] told me that I had no recourse for this automatic payment despite his website specifically saying it was a one-time fee. He claims in his letter that his consulting service is not a “one-time fee”.  Based on the link I sent above and the attached jpg you will see that it is clear that is not true.  I am not disputing the service provided for the first month but for the additional 3 months I was automatically charged and received no service whatsoever and had no knowledge of this automatic payment. Sincerely, [redacted]

Sean A[redacted]Revdex.com[redacted]February 8, 2016RE: Complaint ID [redacted]Dear Ms. [redacted],My consulting services have never been and will never be a “one-time fee”. My service is...

very simple and used by countless business owners in the lawn and landscape industry.The service costs $200 per month as explained both on my website and when I speak with each individual. When someone signs up for the service they receive access to information guides, books, templates, weekly email reports, access to weekly teleseminars and they have access to me via email, text and if necessary, by phone.The service does not require a contract and there is no obligation. Anyone who signs up can cancel at any time, no questions asked. Everyone who signs up for the service utilizes it in a different manner. Some people reach out to me via email or text daily. Others might ask to speak to me every couple of weeks by phone. I always make myself available. But it is made very clear that this service depends on them reaching out to me with questions, issues, problems, ideas, etc. I explain to everyone that the service is affordable because I am here to help when they need me. For everyone, when that help is needed is different.The person who made the complaint did not attempt to reach me “multiple times” and the statement that my voicemail is not set up is also not true. I have had the same phone number and same voicemail for over 15 years. On numerous occasions I would text him and ask if things were going well and if he needed any assistance. Only once did he respond and he asked if we could speak by phone. I called him three different times only to get his voicemail.This person never emailed me, texted me or called me asking to cancel his service. Then out of nowhere he contacts me stating he wants all of his money back. I explained that even though he chose not to use the service that did not mean the service was not being provided and access was always available. I limit the number of people I work with so that I can be accessible and available to those I do work with. On top of that, every week for months this person received the weekly email reports, access to the LIVE weekly teleseminar and the weekly teleseminar recordings. I asked why he would continue receiving these things and reading these things and think that he did not have to pay for them.It is very clear that it was Christmas time and this person was in need of money. He believed he could call me and email me and threaten me and my reputation and in the process strong-arm me into refunding money for services he received.Respectfully, Sean A[redacted]Owner, Lawn Care Success

Dear Ms. [redacted],I received the correspondence in the mail. As stated before, the $200 monthly charge is the monthly fee for the coaching service. It always has been and always will be. It was made clear to Mr. [redacted] when we spoke that this was the case. I have never had a coaching client pretend like they did not know this in the 17 years I have been providing these services. It was also made clear to Mr. [redacted] that the $200 monthly fee is to reserve a coaching slot and the reservation continues until cancelled. A good comparison would be someone who leases a vehicle. If they elect to not drive the vehicle for a month they cannot call the leasing company and ask for their money back simply because they chose not to drive the vehicle. Another comparison would be an insurance policy - if someone had a 30 year term life insurance policy and after 30 years they did not die, would they be able to call the insurance company and ask for their money back? Of course not. Each client uses the service differently - some daily, some weekly, some once a month and some even 2 or 3 times per year. Regardless, their payment reserves my attention and ability to service them. I only take on a specific number of clients so that I am able to service them.Mr. [redacted] knows all of this as it was discussed before signing up and upon signing up.